Together, but Not Like That
by microwaveablegiraffe
Summary: Gilbert cared about Elizaveta. A lot. But he didn't care for her in the way his brother cared for his husband. And unfortunately, he did not care for her like her husband did.


"You know, if you weren't married, I'd kiss you." Elizaveta's hands shook after I said that. "...Sorry, I should refrain from saying things like that now, huh?"

"You really should!" she yelled at me, with tears in her eyes. I honestly wanted to say something along the lines of, well it's not my fault you caught your husband with another man, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. She had come over again, to rant and complain about how much of an insensitive dick Roderich could be.

But this time, she was in tears.

Damn that Austrian.

"I always knew he had a thing for Vasch," she says, sitting down, holding her head in her hands. I sit next to her, trying to console her. I think about patting her back, but I decide not to.

Instead of any physical contact, I offer my half-full can of beer to her. She gulps it down with miminal hesitation. She mutters a simple thanks and rests her head on my shoulder. I look over at her, and oh God, is she beautiful. Yes, with dissheveled hair and red eyes and snot dripping out of her nose and red marks from excessive use of tissues, I believe she is beautiful.

I look at her again. She's staring at my phone. It's ringing. And of course, the asshole of the hour is calling. Elizaveta sighs and I rise to get my phone.

"Hello, Gilbert. I'm calling under the assumption that Elizaveta is with you?" He spoke formally, but I could hear pleading in his voice. I rolled my eyes. _If I was married to Elizaveta my eyes would see only her,_ I thought. But I was not with her, and odds are, I'll never be. Roderich just had a way with her. And I'd rather be alone than dream such dreams.

I looked at Liz. She still had tears in her eyes, but there was an eagerness in her position, leaning forward, eyebrows raised. She did love him. And from the sound of Roderich's voice, he loved her too.

I rolled my eyes and handed Liz the phone. She sat up and gave a surprisingly strong hello.

I stared at her, wondering what Roderich was telling her. Her hand tightened around the phone, and then untightened. She continued this while listening to him.

"No. Roderich, I believe that I will be staying with Gilbert until you can apologize like an emotionally literate person." Elizaveta hung up, and threw my phone onto my other couch. I looked over at her, eyebrows raised, wondering what was going on in her mind. Emerald eyes welled with tears and blinked. Pink lips opened and closed with unruly breaths. She sighed, and rose. I look up at her, my eyebrows rising again.

"Say, Gilbert, do you mind if I stay over for a few nights until I can face Roderich again?"

"Sure, sure. Yeah, stay as long as you need."

She thanked me, and that was the start of her stay.

X

Okay, so let me explain something. I didn't love Elizaveta in a way where I would want to sleep with her or even kiss her. Maybe a peck on the cheek or the forehead would be nice, but the most I'd want was a friendly hug. The awesome me just didn't feel that way about her. I still don't. Honestly, I've never wanted sex from anyone. Much less a romantic relationship. So how was I to make Elizaveta stay without a promise of sex or romantic dates or white gowns or lifted veils or... I just had no way to express my love for her with anything but pats on the back and emotional support. And Liz wanted more. She deserved more.

I wanted to be with her, but I could never give her what she desired more than anything. She wanted love, she wanted romance, she wanted it all. And I could give her none of that. But I could give her a place to stay and a shoulder to cry on. So that's what I did.

X

The next morning, she was up long before me. She stood in front of the bathroom mirror with her binder on. She was nonbinary, and I took pride in being the first person she came out to.

She hadn't realized that I was behind her, and I could hear her talking to herself.

"Maybe if I were more masculine, he would've liked me more..." Her voice drifted off, she obviously became lost in thought. She began puffing out her chest, probably wishing that it was flatter. She sighed, and I decided to speak to her.

"Liz, you really shouldn't think like that. You shouldn't change yourself for him." She turned around, startled by my prescence.

"Good morning, Gil. And yeah, you're right."

"It'd be totally un-awesome to change yourself for him.,"

"Who made you the authority on awesomeness?"

"Liz, can't you tell? The awesome me is the King of awesome!"

She was laughing by now, and it was so nice to see her smile.

How could it be that I was so happy to just be with her, but I never thought of her as a crush?

She was still too awesome to be just a friend.

I guess we're just too awesome for society's ideas of relationships.

Yeah, that sounds right.

 **A/N: So this is my first PruHun fic, hooray! Eventually, Gil and Liz will form a queer-platonic relationship. Please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!**


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